BX 7233 
.H378 
W5 
1897 

Copy A 



BX 

7£33 











WHeRC-FOPJ 



% 






Wherefore, O God? 



OR 



A MODERN ESDRAS 



BY 

CHARLES HERBERT 

PASTOR OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, ROCHFORD, ESSEX, 
ENGLAND 



FOURTH THOUSAND 



NEW YORK: 46 East 14TH Street 

THOMAS Y. CROWELL & COMPANY 

BOSTON : 100 Purchase Street 






jW5 



Copyright, 1897, 
By Thomas Y. Crotyell & Company. 



By Transfer 
D. C. Public Library 
DE^ 2 2 1938 



C. J. Petees & Son, Typogeaphees, 
Boston. 






W7TE: : 

40?-: 




TO THE 

EEV. JOSEPH PARKER, D.D. 

Pastob of The City Temple, London, 

£fjts Book 

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR, 

AS AN APPRECIATION OF 

THE HELP SO OFTEN RECEIVED AT HIS 

THURSDAY MORNING SERVICES. 



The Ma^tse, 

Rochford, Essex, 

ENGLA2vD. 



11 WHEREFORE, GOD?" 



CHAPTER I. 

ne sight In the year of our Lord eighteen hun- 

°ingJabor dred an( l ninety-seven I was in London, 
and daring an( j j ay troubled on my bed. 

sin brings 

doubt. That day in crowded city streets the 

thronging thousands of my brother men had 
stirred within me thoughts too deep for words. 
And vexed at heart was I at sight of younger 
men, brow-lined with care, and gray beyond their 
years, and older men, whose time to rest had surely 
come, still dragging on. That night I wandered 
on for hours through the great city's thorough- 
fares, and everywhere, while sin revealed its power, 
humanity made light of God. While tapering 
spires pointed aloft, yet in the street beneath, lost 
men and women bargained over sin. 

" Where, where is God ? " I cried. " He stays 
not toil — prevents not sin ; where, where is God ? " 
And from my heart there came a whisper, " How 
can there be a God ? There is no God ! no God ! 
NO GOD!" 

With weary steps and sinking heart I sought my 



6 " WHEREFORE, O GOD?" 

home for rest, and sought in vain. At last I rose in 
maddest f renzy, and shrieked into the darkness, — 
"God ! God ! if God there be, speak to me ! 
think to me ! tell me some reason why men needs 
must labor, why sin is not crushed ! " 

The an ei ■^ Ln( ^ more ^ n merc y to my f ellows than 
Uriel myself, God sent me an interpreter whose 

appeareth. . 

name was Uriel. 

" Eear not to speak ! " he cried, " and I will an- 
swer. And what thou learnest tell thy fellow- 
men." 

" my lord ! " I hastened to say, " why must 
men earn the means to live by travail sore, and 
sweat of brow ? " 

" Thou thinkest this a curse," he answered. 
Work and " Thou thinkest wrongly ! Labor, which 

happiness wing men food . M alg0 ^ ^^ fl 

are joined 7 J 

together, strength. God joined together work and 
happiness, and none can sunder them. Yet who 
would work of their own will unspurred by need ? 
Need which exists on their account ; for idle life is 
full of danger, and leaves men weak in body, mind, 
and will. Behold!" 

He waved his hand; and then I saw, in an 
abode of wealth, supported upon cushions, the 
form of one who should have been a man. His 
brow was lofty, and his shoulders broad ; but in 
his eyes there burned devouring fires, and dis- 



" WHEREFORE, O GOD f " 7 

content was stamped upon his face. In querulous 
tones lie spake to the nurse, who soothed him as if 
he were an infant. 

" Seest thou, Esdras," Uriel said, " the fruits of 
idle life ? This man is not afflicted in his body, 
but his mind. He is but sick in fancy. Upon 
excitement has he lived for years, and turning 
night to day, has surfeited with women, wine, 
and play; until at last his nature, overtaxed, de- 
ludes him into fancied illness. Nothing can ever 
cure him but God's remedy of work. 

"Esdras, the power is granted thee to pierce 
that outer shell, to seek the mighty will which 
should be there ! " 

I gazed, and lo ! within the man, beneath life's 
hidden roots, there crouched a tiny thing almost 
too small to see. 

" Beholdest thou that dwarf ? " asked Uriel. 
"Within that man, it ever lacked the use by 
which alone its stature could increase. Effort is 
nature's law. It has no other way to strengthen 
powers of mind and will. And if men take no 
effort, then they gain not growth. Work is the 
servant of mankind." 

Then answered I and said, " My lord, this was 
.. , . but one of my troubled thoughts, and a 

Man's sin J & ' 

a greater small one ; but my mind is heavy more 
by reason of men's sin than men's labor. 



8 "WHEREFORE, O GOD?" 

Tell me, could not He who knew that which would 
come to pass, and who was powerful to prevent 
it, so have fashioned human hearts that sin they 
Does not the could not ? I do not mean it ill unto 
responsibility ^rd : but if God so made men that 

for it belong J 

to God? sin they could, can he in justice blame 

them when they do ? " 

" Thy question has gone far," he said, " but 
farther must thou go ! Before thou askest why 
men were empowered to sin, thou shouldst have 
Need the questioned whether in itself the power to 
power to g | n nee( j k e a cnrse# J tell thee it is not ! 

sin be a 

curse? Knowest thou that to resist temptation 
leaves men the stronger for the battle ? Wouldst 
thou have had men so created that they need not 
fight ? » 

I answered humbly, " I would have had them 
but inclined to choose the higher things and 
good." 

" Thou foolish one ! " he said. " How can there 
be these higher things without things lower, or 
good without a better and a best ? Sin is to 
choose the lower when there is a higher, to choose 
the good in preference of a better, or better when 
there is a best." 

"But," I answered, "why was I not so made 
that I should always choose the higher, and ever- 
more climb up ? God has made other things 



"WHEREFORE, O GOD?" 9 

Why are we wnicn cannot disobey ; governed by law, 
not so made by law they move ! No man heard yet 

that we can d 

only choose of stars which would not shme. Why 
aright? was I not like them?" 

" It is thy glory that thou art not like ! Wouldst 
thou be like a machine, producing without part- 
nat is nership in what it has produced ? To 
our glory. g r i eve no t over sin like thee, and never 
to rejoice at victory ? Wouldst thou miss the last 
to escape the first, and sooner than have struggle 
possible, feel nothing and nothing know ? " 

"Thou makest, then, sin necessary in God's 
great scheme ? " I boldly asked ; for I should have 
is sin been right glad to shift the evil on 

necessary? shoulders other than my Qwn> 

"Nay, man, the power to sin is necessary, 
but that is different ; that power might well have 
No! started men upon an upward course ; if 

they have let it but begin their falling, the burden 
of result is theirs. Seest thou, Esdras ! that 
hand of thine ? Make with it a span ! " 

And I measured with it a hand's breadth. 

Then said he unto me, " Behold ! for while that 
tiny span of goodness were left for thee to pass, to 
reach the perfect holiness of God, and over it thou 
didst refuse to cross, thou wouldst sin. Therefore, 
how couldst thou be without the possibility of 
falls, unless God made thee like to a machine ? 



10 "WHEREFORE, GOD?" 

man ! I tell thee, rather would I have the power to 
sin, than only to be capable of helpless acts. For 
thine own sake thou hast the power to utter yea 
as well as nay, and nay as well as yea. That is 
thy character's foundation, and places thee as part- 
nefounda- ner un ^° Him who ever makes for right. 
twn of ail j know not in the universe a greater 

character is 

the power gift than power to overcome — an idle 
gift without the opportunity of use. 
The power to fall is but the underside of power 
to climb ; it has been so from all eternity, and will 
be so through all eternity. That power is given 
men for their sakes alone ; it is their chief est glory. 
Birds in the air by law must fly ; fish in the sea by 
law must swim ; sun, moon, and stars by law must 
shine : but men can climb by will. Behold ! " 

And in an instant the walls around my room 
were sundered, and in the mists I saw another 
scene. Alone, a man was sitting reading ; but 
ever and anon he closed the book, and seemed to 
think. Now he half left his chair, now he sat 
down again, with lips that moved as if in prayer. 
Again he took the book, again he laid it down, 
and this time rising, crossed the room, and drew 
from a recess a vessel holding wine. Brightly 
glittered the glass in the glancing light as he 
poured the ruby liquor. Raising it to his lips, 
some inward thought arrested him ; with trembling 



"WHEREFORE, GOD?" 11 

hands he set it down. Eed as the wine the blood 
crimsoned his face, swelling the veins therein, as if 
'twould burst them, showing me his inward agony 
of soul. Yet, though his longing for the wine 
rioted in him, he returned it to the vessel and 
departed ; and as he went, he cried, " Thank God, 
I've won ! I've won ! " while radiance such as 
shone on Moses' face of old gleamed upon his. 

"That is how men climb," said Uriel unto me. 
" Wouldst thou alter it ? i Blessed is he that 
overcometh ! ' " 

And I was comforted. 



CHAPTER II. 

It was the glorious summer-time, which bright- 
ens man's existence in London's grimy city as in 
the verdant fields. 

Serving as breathing spaces for the city's life, 
a few green plots remain where nature has full 
scope. And there she wooes the multitude from 
crowded tenement and slum and alley to see her 
subtle skill in tree and flower and grass. 

In the cool hours of evening I walked alone 
beneath the leafy avenues of London's West End 
park. Suddenly I saw, gathered around a vacant 



12 "WHEREFORE, GOD?" 

space of ground near the marble arch, some little 
groups of men. Drawing near, I listened, and 
found them speaking, with exceeding bitterness, 
against the great Creator and his Word. One 
man arraigned the justice of my God in calling 
out a chosen people in Abraham of old. 

*" Who are the Jews/' said he, " more than an- 
other nation ? And who was Father Abraham 
that God should pass all in the world and speak 
to him alone ? I hate favoritism amongst men — 
still more in God." 

And the crowd cheered and laughed. 

Another made the object of his sneers the char- 
acter and ways of ancient men to whom God 
spoke. 

" Was not Noah a drunkard, Abram a liar, Jacob 
a deceiver and a thief, and David an adulterer and 
murderer ? Yet with these men God bore, and 
held most intimate communion. If I believed in 
God, I'd seek a much more moral God than this." 
And again the crowd cheered. 

And yet another rose to tell the story of his 
doubt. About this man there was nothing coarse. 
Calmly he said he found it hard to think that 
human beings like himself were enabled to foresee 
events of history ; nor was he able to believe that 
God could crowd himself in human form like that 
of Jesus Christ. 



"WHEREFORE, O GODf" 13 

Then a fourth man leaped in excitement on the 
stand, and loudly asked, — 

" If Jesus of Nazareth is the Saviour of man- 
kind, why did he come so late ? " 

And again the crowd cheered, and loudly laughed. 

Sadly I walked away. Clearly I saw that many 
doubted that the Almighty had spoken unto men, 
nor knew I how to make the matter plain. Com- 
muning with my soul in watches of the night, my 
spirit then waxed heavy. So I cried aloud to the 
Great Spirit to make these matters clear. 

And Uriel came again, and said, " The things 
which seem opposed to one another have but arisen 
on account of men, the level where they stand, the 
limits of their minds. The book thou thinkest the 
ne revelation revelation of God is but his revelation 

Vtt Ten to unto men ' Seek to explain thy nature 
whom given. to thy little child ! Can he to under- 
stand thy mind, or heed thy general speech ? It 
is a long way down from thee to him, it is farther 
from God to thee. But once, in the childhood of 
the world, it was farther down to men than it is 
now to thee. In place of God at first, now put 
thyself. Seek to reveal thyself to men. The very 
nature of mankind will limit thee. What canst 
thou say that they will comprehend ? Speak to 
thy child in foreign tongue, how will he under- 



14 "WHEREFORE, O GOD?" 

stand ? Tell him of things beyond his mind, how 
will he understand ? Thou must descend to him 
to meet, and like a child converse. Yet when a 
man, if one should say to him, — 

" ( Thus said thy father to thee once/ he might 
reply, astonished, — 

" ' How could so wise a father yet have spoken 
simple things like these ? ? The men who murmur 
now at things once spoken in the long ago do as 
that man would do. They but forget there was a 
First boohs of time when men as children thought, as 
'simTchii- children spake, as children lived, and 
dren's books. books of what God said and did to them, 
and bore with from them, are but children's books. 

" He taught them by toy signs of truth. Ever 
Object the rainbow had been there. God used it 
lessons. as a s [g n f merC y^ f r 'twas color on a 
cloud. And dying plants and animals were used 
as signs of that decay which sin should bring. 
The ravages of fire caused by the lightning's play 
were known before to every desert wanderer. But 
to unite the thought of them with wrath against 
sin was witnessed first at Sodom, and promise of 
deliverance to the city, for sake of righteous men 
within, made but the lesson clearer still. Dost 
thou understand, son of man ? " 

" Yea, my lord," I answered humbly. 

And Uriel continued, saying, — 



"WHEREFORE, O GOB ?" 15 

" The Lord has used the childish instincts of 
On the level mankind to shape the story of their 
men. He™" fuller growth. The wandering spirit 
spoke to them - m Abram of old was used to lead him 

as they were 

able to bear it. f rom his country ; and then the first 
great revelation was bestowed that there are not 
gods many — there is One alone. 

" In times of silent pondering, in solitude which 
could be felt, in visions of the night, the Greater 
Spirit showed the human the little it could grasp. 

" In the gray dawn of truth the family ambition 
was used to stimulate the faith of Abraham ; and 
to instruct him in the majesty of God, God called 
himself ' Most High/ Learn by his heart's be- 
lief that God (whose name is Love) wished Isaac 
for a victim, when he but asked his dedication — 
how little he knew God." 

Why did " But, my lord ! " I cried, " why came 

toVbmm ^is reve l a tion to Abram alone ? Was 
alone? not the whole earth the Lord's, and they 
who dwelt therein ? " 

" How canst thou use a lever without first find- 
He was the i n g some one spot on which to make 
spot on which it bear ? „ he answered# u yet to thee 

the lever of 

revelation was that spot is not more precious than 
fwthe sake™ the rest - '^is for the rest thou dost 
of the rest. b ut use tnat portion first. So of ne- 
cessity, one had to be the first ; and whether Abram 



16 "WHEBEFOBE, GOD?" 

or another, only was he chosen to bless in him the 
nations of the earth. For his own sake God has 
called no man, but for the sake of all. No re- 
specter of persons is thy God ! Abram was called 
for his family, his family for the tribes, the tribes 
for the nation, and the nation for the world. 

" As God found men so he spoke to them, liken- 
ing the truth to what they knew. He said to 
them, c I am not this, I am like that ! ' As men 
were able to receive, so he increased his revela- 
tion. I tell thee, the knowledge God has given 
of his will has grown like the power of men to 
whom 'twas given." 

"And yet, my lord, it seemeth strange to me 
that instruments in which so many flaws are seen 
were chosen by a holy God." 

"If God had waited for more perfect messen- 
gers," the angel said, " then would those truths 
which now have been revealed remain unspoken 
to this day. To man through men must revelation 
come, and never yet was one found perfect. Nor 
is it right that those who hear the message should 
fix their gaze upon the imperfections only of the 
messengers. Come with me now, and I will show 
thee ! " 

And in my dream he carried me to where a 
river, swollen by the rains, had overrun its banks, 
and made the neighboring fields a dismal swamp. 



"WHEREFORE, O GOD?" 17 

"Now map for me that river's coarse ! w lie cried. 

"My lord, I am not able while 'tis thus. I 
need to see its usual steady flow ere I can judge its 
course." 

"Why, then, should any judge the course of 
human life at moments when the floods are out? 
Watch but the general tenor of their way, and lo ! 
the current of their life is seen to set towards right." 

Again he bore me to a rugged scene, where 
mountainous ambitions strove with each other for 
pre-eminence on earth. Peak rose on peat in ri- 
valry of stature. I stood far, far above the level 
of the sea, and yet the little mount beneath my 
feet was dwarfed by grandeur of comparison. 

Once more he carried me in spirit unto a plain, 
where in the midst a solitary hill arose, and set 
me down upon it. It was no higher than the one 
I left; but there beneath me the level country 
stretched, and over it I seemed exalted, for nothing 
towered above me. 

Then spake the angel unto me, "'As in the 
plain that little hill seems great, so many a paltry 
life seemed great in its surroundings. And as in 
mountain grandeur the hill seemed insignificant, 
so seem those lives when measured by far greater 
life and aim. 

"The world's gray fathers were set within a 
plain. Judge them by measure of the time in 



18 "WHEREFORE, O GOD?" 

which they lived ; imperfect though they are, they 
seem the loftiest of the sons of men ! " 

Thus one by one my doubts were vanishing ; but 
the more light I gained, the more I craved. So, 
growing bolder, I entreated, — 

"Let me but ask my lord one thing! How 
What, then, were the holy prophets given their 

of prophecy? gig]it of t ^ ngs as yet to come?" 

" That thou canst not know," he answered. " I 
cannot liken it to anything on earth. But even 
as on earth the will of one can overpower another 
Likened to by laying on of hands, to make him see 
hypnotism. ^ e things he would not see without, so 
could it be with God. There is no man enabled to 
use power which God who gave it cannot use him- 
self. And if one man has power to put his spirit 
on another, so has thy God the power. These 
men were overcome by the will of God, until they 
saw and spake of things beyond their own. I can- 
not tell thee more, thou couldst not understand." 

Then said I humbly, "Is the mystery of God 
What, then, of dwelling in Jesus beyond the servant 
incarnation? of my lord ^ ? forgive me if I err, 

but never could I understand how being infinite 
could enter human form and dwell therein." 

A moment Uriel regarded me, and then he an- 
swered, "Take up thy pen, and write a letter to 



"WHEBEFORE, O GOD?" 19 

The incarna- thy clearest friend. Say what thou 
thought ° S pleasest, but let it be thy mind as 

illustrated. fjQly as thou Canst." 

With wonder I obeyed ; and when the script was 
finished, Uriel said. ••' Xow seal it in an envelope ! n 
Which being done, he then continued. — 
•• Seest thou not this parable ? "Within that en- 
velope, upon that sheet of paper, thy mind is 
manifest unto another. Yet thou remainest as 
thyself. Is it, then, more mysterious that God 
should clothe his thought in human form and 
action, and yet remain himself ? Christ is the 
Thought of God. Jesus the human handwriting in 
which that Thought has come to thee. And as 
the savage would wonder at thy writing, so won- 
derest thou at God's.'-* 

Long time I marvelled at the folly which had often 
done the very thing I thought so difficult for God, 
and yet perceived it not. Then I entreated, — 

" If it be not too bold a question on my part, suffer 
thy servant in ail humility to ask thee why the Sa- 
viour of mankind came not here before. The power 
of sin was present, why not the power to save ? " 

" Give me thy whole attention, and I will see'X 
Why was to show thee ! " answered Uriel. •'• Thou 
incarnated s P ea kest but as if to save men from their 
before? sins was sum and substance of the mis- 



20 " WHEREFORE, O GOD?" 

sion of the Christ. Yet said he not himself he 
came to give men Life and more abundantly ? 
Until he came they were not ready to receive that 
gift. The world was being schooled until it came 
of age to enter into its inheritance. The sense of 
art, the sense of justice, the sense of right and 
wrong, had each to be developed to their full. 
God called the Greek to do the first, and the 
Roman to do the second, the Jew to do the last. 
And when through many an age the world had 
learnt its lessons, and reached i the fulness of its 
times/ the fulness of its life, then came the Christ 
to give it further life. First was the temple built 
by slow degrees, the body perfected, the powers 
of thought and feeling quickened; then came the 
Holy Ghost to dwell therein. ' The natural was 
first, and then the spiritual.' n 

It was enough! The veil was lifted from the 
page of history. I saw the years before the Christ 
as years of preparation before men entered into 
more abundant life. I saw the years since he 
came as years in which the Architect Divine places 
the crowning touches on his work, and hails the 
sons of men as sons of God. 

And as I rose in ecstasy, I cried, " Behold what 
love is this God has on us bestowed, to call us 
sons of God ! " 



"WHEBEFOBE, O GOD?" 21 



CHAPTER III. 

I was alone in ray chamber ; and as my custom 
is before I sleep, I lifted up my heart to God with 
all its many needs. 

Much of my prayer had oft been prayed before, 
but God had long delayed the answer. 

And as I prayed I thought, — 

••"Why do I thus? If God wills to 

What is J 

the use of send me blessing, he will bless ; and if 
he be not willing, no prayer of mine can 
change him. /V 

Whereat I was perplexed, and cast about to see 
the reason why the Father willed that men should 
ask him for the gifts they need. 

Now, while I mused, I must have fallen in a 
trance ; for Uriel came to answer the bold questions 
of my heart. And when I saw him I made haste 
to speak, for my heart was sick with the vain long- 
ing to understand. 

" my lord ! " I said, " I cannot comprehend 

why I, who am but a father in the flesh, will give 

my child so many things unasked for, 

An earthly J Jo J 

father glues and yet the heavenly Father needeth 

without it. T ^ , . ... 

prayer. I know his mercy and nis love 
are far beyond mine own, yet here the servant 
seemeth almost better than the Master.'' 



22 "WHEREFORE, O GOD?" 

" Thy words are rash/ 3 lie answer ed. " Thou hast 
said thou dost not understand ; thou sayest well, 
To under- for thou dost not. Yet must thou strive 
stand, we ^ Q ^ Q ga r^^ ou mns t stand under facts 

must stand 

under, of life, stand at their roots, ere thou canst 

comprehend the ways of God. Tell me. therefore. 
why dost thou think that men should pray ? Does 
thy request instruct God's wisdom ? Is it not 
written, he knoweth ye have need before ye ask ? 
Does it more willing make him to assist thee than 
before ? Nay, since he changes not, that cannot be" 

" This is but as I thought/*' I answered ; " there- 
fore did I wonder I w 

"Then, seest thou not that if the need for prayer 
lies not with God, the need for prayer 

If God does not ' r J 

need prayer, it must lie with thee ? Answer me now, 
and I will teach thee. Thou hast a 
son ; for his sake thou dost save and toil, and ever 
art thou anxious that in his future he should have 
success. Is it not thus ? " 

"Even so, my lord,'' I answered ; " and it is nat- 
ural !' ? A shade passed over his countenance, as if 
I had offended ; and he replied, — ■ 

" If this, then, be thy feeling, express it boldly 
unto God. Say unto him, • Be pleased to grant 
my child great riches. Let him be first in life, 
whoever may be last ! "Whoever suffers, let him 
rejoice ! ; Canst thou pray thus, Esdras ? " 



"WHEREFORE, O GOB ? " 23 

"Nay, my lord. I cannot be thus selfish." 
" Then, see how prayer can test the quality of thy 
Prayer the desires. The thoughts a man ought not 
test of the t ^ should not think. Once more 

quality of * 

our desires. I bid thee listen. Thou hast an enemy, 
Esdras ! and sometimes thou dost wish that he 
might suffer for the things he wrought against thee. 
Thou wouldst be not a little glad if he were greatly 
sorrowful. Go then, Esdras, crying, 'Lord, deal 
with this enemy of mine ! Let me see him crushed 
and humbled, suffering and sad. Bring him into 
a narrow place ! ; Say it ! Say it ! " 

" My lord, I cannot ! It would prick me to the 
heart. David prayed thus once against his enemies, 
but I have read how Christ did pray for his." 

" The things, then, thou mayst not ask, thou hast 
wishes we no right to wish. Seest thou what proof 
utter, we °^ thine heart's wishes prayer can make ? 
have no Prayer, if 'tis real, bringeth the mind to 

right to J ' ' ° 

cherish. only ask good things. In life's mad rush 
the thoughts of men get dark with error, Esdras ; 
prayer brings them to the light of truth. 

" Once more I would remind thee how in prayer 

thou hast refreshed thy soul. TTas it not like 

breath of mountain air, — life on a 

Prayer brings 

men con- higher level, thinking high thoughts 

sciously into . 

companionship in company oi God ? The world's 
of God. great workers have been men who 



24 "WHEREFORE, GOB?" 

often prayed. Tell me, Esdras ! the spring and 

source of all great work ? " 

, " Even God himself," I answered. 

" True," he replied ; " but also man, — man look- 
ing out on God, or looking in upon him, perceiving 
his purposes, hearing his words ; then throbbing 
with a strange excitement, that rushes forth in 
burning eloquence, mastering the minds of men, 
waking their sympathies, rousing their love, and 
kindling in their hearts the selfsame fire. The 
companionship of God is the inspiration of men. 
That is why thou shouldst pray. 

"And yet there is another cause 

Some things " 

cannot be which, if thou ponderest, thou wilt see. 
Some things there are which can be 
given to another, such as money and other earthly 
goods ; but canst thou give thy son knowledge with- 
out he strives to learn ? " 

" Nay, my lord, he must be schooled, and of his 
own will give attention, or in very deed he cannot 
learn." 

"And the more eagerly he tries, the more he 
learneth, Esdras ? Is it not so ? " 

" Even so, my lord ! His mind will open to 
contain more truth. The size of the measure ever 
settleth how much it can contain." 

"Like as thou dealest with thy son," he an- 
swered, " to give him knowledge, so does the wise 
God deal with thee. 



"WHEREFORE, O GOD?" 25 

" Truth, righteousness, and faith cannot be given ; 
they must be acquired. Think on thine own 
words, that the measure of the vessel will ever 
settle how much it can contain. The mercy of 
Truth, right- God desires to lead thee unto truth, to 
eousness,and estab i isiL fl^ - m righteousness, and to 

faith must ° 7 

be acquired. increase thy faith : but these he cannot 
give thee as he could give thee money ; thou must 
acquire them. As thou sendest thy child to be 
schooled, so he bids thee unto his presence-cham- 
ber. There thy spirit's powers expand by wres- 
tling, till he giveth light and grace as thou art able 
to receive. " 

" But, my lord," I questioned, "did not the dis- 
ciples of old pray, 'Lord, increase our faith,' as if 
faith could be given ? w 

u True ! " he said unto me. " And the prayer 
was answered. In journey ings often, in perils by 
How faith land and sea, persecuted of men for the 
'disci* les S2i ^ e °^ Christ, beaten with many stripes, 
increased, a hissing and a byword amongst the 
nations, they exercised the little faith they had, 
and that increased it. As the muscles of the 
smith harden by use, and as by work his strength 
increases, so must it be with faith. Dost thou 
wish thine increased, Esdras ? w 

" Yea, my lord ; for faith is mighty in its work- 
ings." 



26 "WHEREFORE, O GOD?" 

" Have, then, thy wish ! But know, man ! thou 
How the shalt have trouble in the flesh and in the 
faith of spirit. Times shall there be when clouds 

Esdras 

shall be shall overshadow thee, with never a silver 
increased. ^ n ^ n g or even a silver fringe. Thy faith 
shall be stretched to its utmost limit, even as men 
stretch the web of elastic ; but unlike that, it keeps 
the limit to which it has been drawn. " 

" But, my lord," I said, " why is it that accord- 
ing to our faith it is given unto us ? Why should 
God's gifts depend upon my trust ? " 

"Does that thing seem so strange," 

All things ° ° ; 

depend on the angel answered, " which yet is being 
carried on around? It has been writ- 
ten that lacking faith it is impossible to piease 
thy God. I tell thee, Esdras, that lacking faith 
thou canst not even please thy fellow-men ; thou 
canst not serve them nor thyself without this faith. 
" The world is served by many a law placed by 
the Lord in nature for thy use, but the great rul- 
ing law which governs all is faith itself. Faith 
launches forth thy frail bark on the ocean, nor can 
one put to sea without it. Faith lights the fire 
within thy dwelling : why art thou not afraid 
that it will be consumed ? Faith puts the arrow 
on the string, and faith again it is which draws 
the bow. Before thou usest one of nature's laws, 
'tis faith must set it working. Thou canst not 



"WHEREFORE, O GOD?" 27 

speak or move without some faith. It is the key 
to all things round thee. And if thou hast but 
little faith, it limits thy possessions. The man 
who says he cannot is not able. Think but thy- 
self without the power to walk — thy limbs will 
drag upon thee even as if dead. Lose but thy 
faith, and thou wilt lose thy health. To the be- 
lieving mind all things ar^^possiij^: for in this 
world thou may st b^^r^l£er4-ifeS£Jg^^^r to be 
the servant of tiM$m, fflffi<WCT<£Btiid WittN^Jike 
both came fromjpd." [\jQV 2 5 1902 

" My lord ! " ^ a M; " whilst thou art sgeaj&fng, 
the world appeareth simply filled with servants of 
mankind. Never before have i beheld it on this 
fashion. Clearly I see that faith in man keeps 
men together, and faith in nature's laws gives in- 
crease to their powers. But that which troubleth 
me is this : why things we cannot gain ourselves 
are given us through faith in God, or else withheld 
because we trust him not ? " 

" Come with me now, and I will teach thee ! " 
Uriel answered. And in my dream he bore me to 
that mighty bridge which spans the black, flowing 
river of London, and said to me, " Lean thou over 
the edge thereof, and drop a stone into the waters 
under thee." 

I did so ; and with ever-increasing speed did the 
stone fall, till its splash was heard as it struck the 
bosom of the waters. 



28 " WHEREFORE, O GOD?" 

" How didst thou tliat ? " he questioned. 

" I did but do thy will," I answered. 

" Yea, but how wast thou enabled ? Thou didst 
but drop the stone, another force than thine com- 
pelled it downward. Didst thou not see that ever 
as it fell it moved more rapidly ? Some other force 
than thine had quickened it." 

The force of I answered, " This is that force which 

gravitation. men ca j] gravitation." 

" And hast thou ever seen it ? " Uriel asked. 
Never seen, "Seen it, my lord! It is a law ; I 

but a law. k now nQt more a k out jj» 

" Did not the world-life go on as smoothly before 
men gave this law a name ? " the angel answered. 
" Even so," I said ; " for in its igno- 

Men act as 7 7 ° 

though it ranee the world has acted as if 'twere 

were there. ^^ 

« Esdras ! " he cried. " And faith is but the 
name thou givest to the law by which God worketh 
in the vast unseen. Named or unnamed, still it is 
there. Seen or unseen, still it is there ; and under- 
stood or not, 'twas there from all eternity. Act 
thou as if it were, and it shall serve thee well. 
Matter or spirit is subject unto it. It is the 
method of the power of God, and by it God can 
give thee richly all things to enjoy. Have faith 
in God ! And as the measure of thy faith, to thee 
it shall be measured." 



"WHEREFORE, O GOD? 1 '' 29 

Thus changing eyes with Uriel, I saw this uni- 
verse as the abode of God. I understood at last 
the world as one vast treasury, and God himself 
the treasurer. I saw afresh the Lord of Hosts as 
Lord of laws, — laws for our daily life on earth, 
set there to see that as our day our strength shall 
Faith the fore- be; and over all the greater law of 
man-servant faith (th.% foreman-servant of that God 

of the ser- \ J 

vantsofGod. w ho liveth to serve man) wearing the 
livery of God, inscribed with God's great motto : — 



<< 



flcb 2>ien!" 



CHAPTER IV. 

Gray was the day and leaden-hued the sky, 
when I arose on one Good Friday morn, and with 
the early crowd which thronged to many a church 
sought to remember the suffering Son of God. 

Within the church the light stole dimly through 
the richly colored glass, and the great altar draped 
in black seemed but to lend an added sadness to 
the scene. Finding no seat, for many were before 
me, I fell upon my knees within the aisle, and 
there in silence waited, worshipping. Backward 
my thoughts then wandered to the world's Great 
Tragedy, when the cruel hands of men had cruci- 



30 "WHEBEFOBE, O GOD?" 

fied the Son of God. And then it seemed as if 
the altar rolled away, and I was gazing on the hill 
called Calvary. Beside it Uriel stood, and with 
magnetic gaze still drew me on, until I stood be- 
neath the shadow of the cross. 

I looked beseechingly upon him. "Was there 
no other way than this ? " I cried, " to satisfy the 
will of God ? This is a ministry of anguish, 
blood, and death, a ghastly horror, unlike the work- 
ings of a God of love ! Read me this riddle, if 
thou canst, my lord, — why suffering innocence 
can thus appease an angry God ? " 

A moment he regarded me, then with reproachful 
tone he said, " Who told thee God was angry ? " 

" This is the way men view the Cross," I mur- 
mured. 

" Then, they misunderstand it," answered Uriel. 
" The Father loves thee not because Christ died ; 
Christ did but live and die because the Father 
loved thee." 

" Why, then, the cross for him ? " I questioned. 

" J Twas for the sake of men, not for the sake of 
Christ's death God, that Jesus suffered there. Death 

loo "or Wm WOn n °^ ^ 0Ve ^ 0r ^ nee > n0r J e ^ ^OTglYe- 

forgiueness. ness ; they were and are thine own, 
through God's forbearance." 

" Why, then, that cruel death upon the cross ? " 
again I cried. 



"WHEREFORE, O GOD? 1 ' 31 

" That death, was needful to do a work for men ; 
to teach their stubborn hearts how God viewed 
sin. Full freely God forgave ; but for the sake of 
men, God cannot treat sin lightly. The sins of 
Christ's death men of olden time cost them a sacri- 
an object- fi which ma( i e God none the richer. 

lesson how God 7 7 

regardeth sin. but was ordained to show to men the 
costliness of sin. If God made light of sin to 
men, men would make light of sin to God. Be- 
hold ! in Jesus Christ, God's object-lesson how he 
regards man's sin. And that thou mayst see that 
for man's sake alone the Saviour suffered thus, 
Why was not tel1 me > ° Esdras ! why the Lord 
Christ drowned, was crucified ? Others have slept all 

or put to 

death some peacefully to death, or drowned in 

other way? oceail > s depths have swiftly passed. 
Why not the Lord ? " 

Knowing not what to say, I answered not. 

Then said the angel, " 'Twas for the sake of 

men, so hard to stir to sympathy, he suffered such 

a cruel death, else without suffering, the 

To waken "' 

human Son of God might well have laid aside 
y ' the human form in which he robed him- 
self. But so low down are men, that nothing but 
the sight of awful agony moveth their hearts and 
wakes their sympathy. And that the travail of 
his Son might bring forth sympathy in men, and 
win them through their sympathy to higher life, 



32 "WHEBEFOBE, O GOD?" 

the Saviour died upon the cross. Not on behalf of 

God, but on behalf of men. ' To draw them unto 

him ? the Saviour suffered thus." 

Awhile I stood and pondered on the greatness 

The angel *>f that love which bore so much for us. 
departing. But Uriel made ag jf he w(mld depart . 

and I restrained him, crying, — 

" My lord ! my lord ! The days will pass into 
the years, and many a baffling mystery shall yet 
_ , come to thy servant. I may not ever 

Esdras prays u u 

for some have thee at my side to give me light. 

perpe ua ey. Q ans ^ ^hou not, ere thou leavest for 
thine own abode, give me a clew to use in the 
great maze of life ? Some key to open any lock, 
some lamp unto my feet ? Speak, lord ! thy ser- 
vant heareth ! " 

And at his feet I fell. 

Yet stay he would not ; but as he departed, he 
looked with pitying love upon my igno- 
sake all ranee, and upbraided not, and ere he van- 
lngs ' ished spake these words, — 

"EOK THY SAKE." 

And they have been the lamp unto my feet. 



■i 

Fm. 229. 20M. 6-22-'oi (10) 3765-01 

FINE FOR OVER-DETENTION TWO CENTS A DAY. 

ALTERATIONS ^jFfHfc RECORDS BELOW ARE STRICTLY ^(^fTED. 


TAKEN / 




TAKEN 


TAKE^t XL, 


_ TAKEN 


















, 


































































«■ 


































1 







Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: April 2006 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

111 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



Public Library 

Washington, D. C. 



All losses or injuries be- 
yond - reasonable wear, 
however caused, must 
be promptly adjusted 
by the person to 
whom the book is 
charged. 

Fine for over de- 
tention two cents a 
day. 
Books will be issued 
and received from 10 a. U. 

9 P. If. 




Acme Library Card 5?ocket 

Made by LIBRAE? BUREAU, Boston. 



Keep your card in this pocket. 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



Ml S . I 

017 452 277 7 




LltJKHKT Ur iwUINUKCOO 



017 452 277 7 



